At stake in this election:

• 208 seats in the Senate (Senado)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: King JUAN CARLOS I
• Head of Government: President of the Governme Jose Luis RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO
• Assembly: Spain has a bicameral Parliament consisting of the Senate (Senado) with 259 seats and the Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados) with 350 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The King is hereditary N/A.
• In the Senate (Senado), 208 members are elected by direct popular vote to serve 4-year terms and 51 members are appointed by regional legislatures to serve 4-year terms. In the Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados), 248 members are elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation to serve 4-year terms and 102 members are elected in single- and multi-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: People's Party (PP)
  • Leader: Mariano RAJOY
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 101
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 102
  • Seats won in this Congress of Deputies election: 154
  • Seats won in last Congress of Deputies election: 148
• Party: Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)
  • Leader: Jose Luis RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 89
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 81
  • Seats won in this Congress of Deputies election: 169
  • Seats won in last Congress of Deputies election: 164
• Party: Convergence and Union (CiU)
  • Leader: Artur MAS i Gavarro
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 4
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 4
  • Seats won in this Congress of Deputies election: 10
  • Seats won in last Congress of Deputies election: 10
• Party: United Left (IU)
  • Leader: Gaspar LLAMAZARES
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in this Congress of Deputies election: 2
  • Seats won in last Congress of Deputies election: 5
• Party: Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV)
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 2
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 6
  • Seats won in this Congress of Deputies election: 6
  • Seats won in last Congress of Deputies election: 7
• Party: Canarian Coalition (CC-PNC)
  • Leader: Jose Torres STINGA
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 3
  • Seats won in this Congress of Deputies election: 2
  • Seats won in last Congress of Deputies election: 3
• Party: Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG)
  • Leader: Anxo QUINTANA
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in this Congress of Deputies election: 2
  • Seats won in last Congress of Deputies election: 2
• Party: Andalusian Party (AP)
  • Leader: Antonio ORTEGA
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in this Congress of Deputies election: 0
  • Seats won in last Congress of Deputies election: 0
• Party: Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC)
  • Leader: Josep-Lluís CAROD-ROVIRA
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in this Congress of Deputies election: 3
  • Seats won in last Congress of Deputies election: 8
• Party: We The Basque People (EA)
  • Leader: Unai ZIARRETA
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in this Congress of Deputies election: 0
  • Seats won in last Congress of Deputies election: 1
• Party: Navarre Yes / Na-Bai
  • Leader: Nxue BARKOS Berruezo
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in this Congress of Deputies election: 1
  • Seats won in last Congress of Deputies election: 1
• Party: Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD)
  • Leader: Rosa Díez
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in this Congress of Deputies election: 1
  • Seats won in last Congress of Deputies election: 0
• Party: Entesa Catalonia de Progres (PSC-ERC-ICV-EUiA)*************
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 12
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 12
  • Seats won in this Congress of Deputies election: 0
  • Seats won in last Congress of Deputies election: 0

************* Senate coaltion grouping of 4 Catalonian parties

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 45,954,106 (2008)
• Registered Voters: 33,875,268 (registered for lower house) 33,872,901 (for upper house)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 23,225,520 (2008)

·         Is Spain a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Spain ratified CEDAW: Yes (5 January 1984)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 127 (Congress of Deputies); 79 (Senate) following the 2008 elections

·         Human Development Index Position: 26 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Spain a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007): 

·         Has Spain ratified CRPD: Yes (3 December 2007)

·         Population with a disability: 6,893,115 (est.)